JP Morgan Chase hit with RICO

The Department of Justice charged JPMorgan Chase with racketeering under the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act)statute. This is the first large bank to be charged under this statute, which has been used against members of the Gambino and Bonanno crime families. The charge is against the bank's precious metals desk. DOJ says that the desk rigged the prices of gold, silver and other precious metals for the past eight years; it “conducted the affairs of the desk through a pattern of racketeering activity, specifically, wire fraud affecting a financial institution and bank fraud.”